Put your hand up if you knew that I (Kodiak) was a numbers guy? I know it doesn’t look like it on the outside, but I absolutely love using data and numbers to figure out how we can make camp better for people.

Parents: I am 100% serious when I say that I read every single piece of survey feedback that comes to us each year - your help in making camp better is incredible.

Combine that love of data with the fact that I recently discovered that you can make charts in a blog post, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a fun blog post!

First off however: thank you to all the parents who were so incredibly patient with us during the credit card glitch that happened on the first night of registration. I know that was frustrating for many of you, but you were kind and generous with us when we called to check-in, and that means a lot to us as full-time staff.

So - what did we learn from the first month of registration? Here’s where we were at yesterday morning:

For those who are doing the math, that’s a whopping 420 campers in one month, or 70% of our camper capacity for the summer. We already have a wait list for Senior Girls, Senior Boys and Oasis, and are looking at waitlists soon for Junior Girls and Basecamp.

A few other things:

• On March 1, 2018 (last year), we were 65% full - which means that we’re about 30 campers ahead of last year. Not a big difference, but it does answer a question that I had about advertising, which is that…

• Did you notice that we didn’t send out any mailed advertising this year? We had a hunch that sending a reminder in the mail wasn’t having much of an impact on people choosing to register at camp, and this means we can use the money we save on postage and printing costs on other things, which helps us to keep our camp fees as some of the most affordable in Muskoka.

• Calling all Junior Girls: there are only 5 spots left in the session for our youngest girls, which is amazing!

• Alpha! We’re already at a record number of registration for Alpha at this time of year - we can’t wait to see some many of you at that camp session at the end of the summer.

• Family Camps are filling up just as quickly as always. There are a few spots left in Agape, but it’s going to be another fun summer of family fun at both Agape and Oasis.

We’re looking forward to seeing what God does this summer at Beacon, and we would love to have your camper (or you!) join us. Please also consider joining our prayer team for the months of July and August to pray for everyone who is learning, playing and serving at camp.